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The Later Cenozoic & The Syntozoic; Future Earth through 500 MYL
Topic Started: Sep 18 2010, 12:34 PM (689 Views)
Dayshade
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Hello, this is my first post here. I would really appreciate tips!

Later Cenozoic
The late 20th and 21st centuries were very turbulent years for humans. The rise of terrorism, corruption, environmentalism, and globalization had taken effect on the people and pollution was on the rise. Humans were doing their best to reduce their carbon output, but to little avail, because the seas rose over 30 meters in 2059, flooding many cities, after much of Greenland and Antarctica's ice sheets fell into the sea, triggering large waves which in turn knocked down more ice. In the 2060s, Humans vacated nearly all cities with less than 1 million people in an effort to preserve the environment and re-wild the world. In the end, many of them left for other planets in the 2080s and 2090s, with less than 1 million remaining on Earth, charged with maintaining a worldwide nature preserve. The "rangers", as they were called, were ordered to never interfere in a disaster unless it would result in the extinction of all multicellular life (save extremophiles). And that way it stayed for a very, very, long time.

There were four waves of the Neogene-Mediterranean extinction event. The first wave was a smaller extinction in hunting an diseases made mammoths, mastodons and some other genera extinct. The second was due to pollution and habitat destruction, rapidly making species extinct. The third wave started around 80,000 CE, when Yellowstone erupted, sending around 650 cubic miles of debris into the air. The immense shock wave of the explosion triggered more volcanic activity around the world. The thick clouds of debris and dust blocked out the sun completely, and the Earth began rapidly cooling. Ice sheets and glaciers quickly recovered, decreasing the sea level. But this was not for long. Increased volcanic activity kept it alive for many years, but eventually the extra carbon dioxide from the volcanoes and the settling dust started the fourth wave. The quickly re-heating Earth flooded with water in the final wave of the extinction. These four waves would be collectively known as the Neogene–Mediterranean extinction event.

The Mediterranean period gets its name from the new Mediterranean Mountains and, in the first part of the time, the salt bed of the Mediterranean. The average temperature is 2.5 degrees higher than today. Carbon dioxide levels were still higher than today by the end. The Mediterranean was a tectonically active period, with California ripping off from North America, East Africa ripping off from the other part of Africa, and Africa colliding with Europe, first creating a salt bed until creating a new mountain range in the second half. The Mediterranean lasted about 45 million years.
Edited by Dayshade, Sep 20 2010, 07:37 PM.
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Dragon wasp
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welcome day shade!

brilliant ideas! cant wait to see creatures!
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Pando
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Welcome to SE! Why not make a topic in Member Introductions?

I like it all except that Yellowstone can't do that. Tons of supervolcanos erupted (1 or 2 during human time) and nothing like that happened. Just a nuclear winter for 1-3 years.
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Dayshade
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THIS NO LONGER APPLIES, I AM REDOING IT. HOWEVER, I AM KEEPING IT AS AN ARCHIVE FOR REFERENCE PURPOSES.

Survivors

Amphibians - They're going to either barely hang on and lose via competition later in the period or be killed in the extinction. I think this is realistic because right now amphibians aren't doing too well and a big temperature decrease will be the last straw.


Birds - Both Palaeognathae and Neognathae survive. Below is a list of orders that survive.

• Anseriformes
• Galliformes
• Charadriiformes
• Columbiformes
• Accipitriformes
• Falconiformes
• Passeriformes


Bony Fish - Some small, omnivorous fish, some fish living near the hydrothermal vents and some fish living in water with lots of seaplants survive.


Cartilaginous Fish - Heterodontiformes, Orectolobiformes, Carcharhiniformes and Rajiformes survive.


Jawless Fish - Lampreys manage to survive.


Mammals - Monotremes become extinct (poor platypi D=). Placentals fare a bit better than Marsupials. Mammals were nearly wiped from both the sea and the sky, but quickly regained diversity in those areas. Below is a list of orders that survive.

• Scandentia
• Primates
• Artiodactyla
• Perissodactyla
• Soricomorpha
• Rodentia
• Lagomorpha
• Carnivora
• Cetacea
• Diprotodontia
• Chiroptera
• Didelphimorphia
• Dasyuridae


Reptiles - The Surviving Infraorders are Gekkota, Scincomorpha, Crocodilians and Iguania.
WIP
Edited by Dayshade, Sep 23 2010, 08:30 PM.
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Pando
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Don't forget the fungi that is killing the amphibians.

But why bats? Bats are the second highest order of mammals after rodents, I don't see them dying.
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Dayshade
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Hi Pandorasaurus. I'm not sure what else I could do for this extinction, so I did a massive volcanic eruption that triggered more volcanic eruptions. Please tell me if you have a more realistic alternative, thanks! I already knew about the fungi, I just didn't mention it.

About Bats - I'm not as experienced as you, and I didn't think they'd survive. But. . . if you think they would survive in this, then I'll add them.
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Ook
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doubt that perissodactyls should survive,even without extinction event they re slowly outcompeted by artylodactyls
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Dayshade
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They're going to become extinct during the period, but not during the actual extinction. What do you guys think about Dermoptera? I just removed it, but I think it's possible they could survive and maybe compete with bats and birds for the air.
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Ook
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dasyurids could propably survive too,marsurpial mice are adaptibile and small
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Pando
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Colugos have only 2 species, I doubt they would survive. Especially if so many others die.
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Dayshade
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Okay, this is a list of the times I'm going to do.

10 MYL (Early Mediterranean). Average global temperature: 24 degrees. Oxygen levels: 17%.
40 MYL (Late Mediterranean). Average global temperature: 20 degrees. Oxygen levels: 22%.
(Mass extinction wipes out 30% of genera in 45 MYL)
50 MYL (Early Tharsian). Average global temperature: 12 degrees. Oxygen levels: 24%.
80 MYL (Mid Tharsian). Average global temperature: 19 degrees. Oxygen levels: 21%.
105 MYL (Late Tharsian). Average global temperature: 21 degrees. Oxygen levels: 22%.
(Mass extinction wipes out 50% of genera in 108 MYL, ending Cenozoic, starting Syntozoic)
120 MYL (Early Lodrapic). Average global temperature: 26 degrees. Oxygen levels: 23%.
155 MYL (Late Lodrapic). Average global temperature: 28 degrees. Oxygen levels: 25%.
(Oxygen levels drop significantly, making very large creatures extinct)
170 MYL (Early Krivisian). Average global temperature: 24 degrees. Oxygen levels: 18%.

If someone could make a map for 10 MYL, that would be awesome. Make it like you think it should be like - East Africa should be split off from mainland africa, california should have split off from north america. Africa has closed in on Europe so that the Mediterranean is a salt bed. North and South America should be separate, and madagascar should be farther east from Africa.
Edited by Dayshade, Sep 20 2010, 07:50 PM.
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Ook
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basically almost all orders could survive,sure with lower biodiversity,but survive
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Dayshade
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I have done lots of work, please look around =)

I'm going to re-do extinct and extant as well.
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Dragon wasp
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if you want a map i would as clarke.

OH CLARKE WE'VE GOT A MAP TO!!!!!!!

if ya talk to 'im he should probably do it.
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Dayshade
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Here's the list of extinct species. Still WIP

Mammals:

Placentals:

Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles): golden moles
Tubulidentata (aardvarks)
Proboscidea (elephants)
Sirenia (manatees, dugong, and sea cows)
Pilosa (anteaters and sloths): anteaters and most sloths
Dermoptera (colugos)
Primates (lemurs, monkeys, apes, humans, etc.): various, mostly apes and some monkeys
Rodentia (mice, squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, etc.): beavers, most caviidae
Lagomorpha (hares, rabbits, and pika): some larger lagomorphs
Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures)
Chiroptera (bats): almost all megabats, some microbats
Pholidota (pangolins)
Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises): all except some dolphins and a handful of small whale species
Carnivora (cats, lions, and other feliformia; dogs, bears, seals, and other caniformia): seals, bears, big cats
Perissodactyla (horse, zebra, tapir, rhinoceros, etc.): all except some horses
Artiodactyla (pigs, camels, cattle, deer, etc.): all except deer, pigs, peccaries, and camels

Monotremes

Marsupials:

Microbiotheria (Monito del Monte)
Dasyuromorphia (marsupial carnivores): all except quoll, marsupial shrew, dasyure, kaluta, dunnart, and planigale
Vombatiformes (wombats and koalas)
Macropodiformes (kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies): larger kangaroos

Birds:

Reptiles:

Amphibians:

Bony Fish:

Cartilaginous Fish:
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